Quote:
Originally Posted by MontanaChef
After one year f us takes a shower we have to wait. When my wife does laundry we have to wait. My wife also has a inflatable bath tub that she has to use plug in water heaters to heat the water. Not safe. We love our hot water and my wife loves her long showers.
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For these purposes you will be very happy with a tankless @MontanaChef.
My installation of the Suburban IW60 saved my RV (or my marriage). Although I can take a shower on three quarts of water the 6 gallon tank, even on electric and gas, was insufficient for a single shower for her and for repeat showers when we have our grandchildren on board. Mrs. boxcar loves her unlimited hot water and my Lab loves the exterior hot water showers! I was a hero on our October trip to Colorado. However I was thrown off the pedestal on our December trip to the same Colorado campsite at 7200' in Colorado.
I appreciate all the actual numbers you recorded @Mikendebbie - thank you! I would like to record the tap temperature for many ground water temperatures now, as I believe that my problem in December was the temperature of the water going into the IW60. We could not get a shower above 100°, which is fine for me but simply not enough for the wife.
I will add, however, that I believe the well water that I was pumping from my fresh water tank was sitting at 32.1° - my input water line froze solid on that trip (-4° overnight) and I was using my winterization bypass valve to pump water out of gallon jugs.
My 295RLS Sprinter does not have tank heaters, though it will before our next Christmas trip to Colorado. And I'll have heat tape stretched along the main water line. I believe the tank heaters will get the holding tank temperature to 40° and I'll need to do some research to see if that is sufficient for output water temperature.
A few other things I will add that haven't been mentioned if you go tankless.
1. Add the Suburban remote control to your bathroom wall in reach of anyone in the shower. I used the Suburban 162292 on my IW60. We now set the temperature on the wall before getting in the shower. Then we turn on only the hot water knob and get a perfect shower. Wife's temp is 109° on the wall and mine is 106°. I can't say what the shower water temperature is yet because I forgot to bring my thermometer on this winter trip to Florida.
2. Remember to return the remote control to 130° so the temps are good for dishes.
2. You don't do a "navy style" shower with a tankless. There is a more significant cold water pocket than with a tank water heater.
3. I had to take water restrictors out of the bathroom and kitchen faucets to get sufficient water flow to keep the IW60 heating.
4. While installation was really simple, I wasn't able to get Suburban support because they state they only provide it through an RV tech.
5. I bought the IW60 for $525 from a well known chain with a 15% discount coupon.
6. I've been pleasantly surprised how little propane we use even when both of us take daily hot showers. I now use hot water to rinse the black tank, too, and we haven't used a full propane tank per month in Florida this year.
We are very happy with tankless in our RV. I've also replaced the tank hot water heaters in most of my houses with tankless, so we're quite used to them. We have 9 teenage grandchildren who, along with the adults, can take back to back showers.